Aaron Hiday, '13, has studied turbidity in Rice Creek for the past two years with professor of geology Thom Wilch.

"FURSCA has given me the opportunity to get two summers of field experience," Hiday says. "In the geology world, that's big."

"For many students, FURSCA research will lead to national presentations and publications," Ian MacInnes, English professor and FURSCA director, says. "These can help them enroll in graduate programs and succeed in their fields."

Hiday was honored for his research by winning the Best Student Poster Award at the 2011 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting. He hopes to write a departmental thesis on his research this year.

MacInnes says FURSCA helps students plan and study independently, and to problem solve over the course of their summer research. That independent project management experience is a hallmark of the liberal arts, he says.

"All of this will hopefully add up to put me in a good position to get a good job after I graduate," Hiday says.

Albion Signs Agreement to Implement New Programs in Sustainability Studies

Albion President Donna Randall signs the agreement implementing two new programs that will involve Albion students in sustainability studies on the Albion and UVSQ campuses. At right is Martin O'Connor, director of the International Center for Research in Ecological Economics, Eco-Innovation & Tool Development for Sustainability at UVSQ.

Albion College and its French partner, the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), are taking a global approach to sustainability in more ways than one. The two institutions have recently signed an agreement to implement two new programs for Albion students that will involve them in sustainability studies on both institutions' campuses.

Students may choose either an undergraduate major in sustainability studies or a one-year postgraduate course of study based at UVSQ culminating in a certificate of sustainability studies which is equivalent to completing the first year of a master's program. The programs will provide a worldwide perspective on key environmental problems and solutions and will prepare students to advance sustainable lifestyles on a broad scale.

"This new program with UVSQ builds on the good work that Albion College has already been doing through its Center for Sustainability and the Environment," said Albion President Donna Randall. "We have much to learn from our European counterparts about incorporating sustainability into everyday life, and this international partnership will enable our students to see best practices in action and bring those practices back home to the United States."

Student Farm Provides Local Food, Leadership Lessons

Cody Yothers, ’13, and Kaitlyn Pospiech, ’13, are getting their hands dirty learning how to provide locally grown, environmentally sustainable food to the Albion College community through the student farm.

Both students found out that when elements like weather and pests are factored in, things don’t always go as planned. But that experience may be the best educational lesson, says Tim Lincoln, professor and director of Albion College’s Center for Sustainability and the Environment.

Over the summer, Yothers worked with Albion’s student farm as part of his summer research project combining community outreach with community gardening. Pospiech made a deal with Bon Appétit, Albion’s dining service provider, to sell the tomatoes, beans, basil, and broccoli grown on the farm. She also enlisted Albion students to help with harvesting the produce this fall.

Gibbons and fellow biology major Heather Norbert, '12, joined geology major Abby Williams, '12, Whitehouse Nature Center director David Green, and Lincoln as the Michigan Colleges Foundation (MCF) launched a conservation project joining four private Michigan colleges and universities, the University Preparatory Academy (a Detroit-based charter school), and Ducks Unlimited in the creation of wetland in Monroe County along the River Raisin.